is350 Fsport - will acceleration improve after break-in?
11-01-14, 08:01 PM
#31
I don't^^ I find that the stability & traction controls are unobtrusive in my driving.
Regardless of break-in or not, as someone had mentioned, there is still an adaptation period of the ECU. Now that I have over 1000 miles on the odo, the car feels stronger at all engine speeds and no longer feels like there is a bottle neck at higher rpm. The peakier power delivery, dare I say, is more exciting than my N54 335i stock for stock.
Regardless of break-in or not, as someone had mentioned, there is still an adaptation period of the ECU. Now that I have over 1000 miles on the odo, the car feels stronger at all engine speeds and no longer feels like there is a bottle neck at higher rpm. The peakier power delivery, dare I say, is more exciting than my N54 335i stock for stock.
01-31-15, 02:50 PM
#32
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FYI...
Quick update, I'm now past 5,000 miles, and I am happy to report that acceleration no longer feels constrained. The engine feels free-revving, the car shoots off the line pretty good, mid-range power is snappy. It felt this way prior to 5,000 miles, but I am now just reporting it. I will say what I was feeling when I originally picked up the car was felt all the way at least until I reached approx. 4,000 miles. Then for some reason after that the car felt like it gradually picked up the pace, almost as if the ECU took that long to adjust and optimize its fuel & timing tables. My other half even made comments about how snappier the car has become.
I actually had a run-in with a B6 S4 6speed a couple days ago with favorable results
As a former Dolphin Gray B6 S4 owner, definitely put a smile on my face.
Quick update, I'm now past 5,000 miles, and I am happy to report that acceleration no longer feels constrained. The engine feels free-revving, the car shoots off the line pretty good, mid-range power is snappy. It felt this way prior to 5,000 miles, but I am now just reporting it. I will say what I was feeling when I originally picked up the car was felt all the way at least until I reached approx. 4,000 miles. Then for some reason after that the car felt like it gradually picked up the pace, almost as if the ECU took that long to adjust and optimize its fuel & timing tables. My other half even made comments about how snappier the car has become.
I actually had a run-in with a B6 S4 6speed a couple days ago with favorable results
As a former Dolphin Gray B6 S4 owner, definitely put a smile on my face.
Last edited by Loe; 01-31-15 at 02:57 PM.
01-31-15, 10:21 PM
#34
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Yes the car feels a lot quicker than what it was when I bought it a little over a year ago. I am at 20K now and it feels really quick to me. I tried VW GTI today and I loved that little mighty car. After I sat back into my 3IS, Lexus seemed to be pretty tight as well. By now I am assuming everything got broken in and operates at 100%. The performance at S+ is very impressive. Usually when I get bored I take highway 17 from San Jose to Santa Cruz. It is a twisty road stretching around 20 miles. It is a lot of fun if cops are not there.
Last edited by salvadorik; 02-03-15 at 11:14 AM.
02-01-15, 11:49 AM
#36
Ok, so lets take a minute and straighten out some information here.
This is coming from an mechanical engineer, with a large amount of race car engine building background.
Very few cars on the market are "broken in" when you purchase it. Those include the Nissan GT-R (in which the motor is put on a tester and run hard for 20 minutes at redline) before it is signed off and then placed into the car. This is done because Nissan wishes for the first owner to enjoy the car right off the bat. The first generation 2012 Camaro ZL1, many were broken in (and it stated it in the manual) in order to assure that no leaks occurred and that there was no additional oil blowby into the supercharger.
For the mass produced car, your car was NOT broken in. The 4-10 miles you see on your car, is the car being driven once its off the assembly line (as it works its way around to the suspension testing machines and other facility checks), and eventually off to the lot, and then to the truck or ship that will bring your car to you.
While I certainly agree that the DURATION of break-in may be subjective, it is certainly necessary. When you purchase your car new, your piston rings, valves, and cam(s) are entirely not broken in. Heck, they probably have under a half million duration by the time you take possession. The purpose of the break in procedure is to allow for proper wear in of the vehicle during the initial stages of driving. It takes time for these to break in.
For example, for your engine to seat the rings (and also shave off any engineering tolerances on the cylinder walls), you vary your RPM. By doing this (which your manual tells you to do) you are wearing the rings in so that you get proper compression at low and high RPMs. If you start beating on the car right away, there is a good chance you will warp the rings (even a couple mills can lose you a psi), and become a chronic oil burner. I won't go into the rest, but you get the general idea of where I'm going with this.
Now, some people may say, I BEAT ON MY CAR AND ITS FINE. Thats great, congrats to you, your car was built on a great day. But that will not be the case for everyone. Because you will have people that listened to you talk about how you beat on the car, and then they are crying to Lexus because they don't understand why the car keeps burning a qt of oil every 1,000 miles.
Another thing to keep in mind is that your ECU needs time to learn you fuel trim and timing tables. As your engine becomes looser, and more free flowing, your ECU will adjust to this. As this happens, your car will begin to open up. This is the same reason you car feels like a dog (and a gas hog) in the beginning, and opens up after several hundred miles. Your fuel tables are now finally calibrated correctly, and now you have a motor that is running within range.
The break-in exists.
Ok, I will get off my soap box now...
This is coming from an mechanical engineer, with a large amount of race car engine building background.
Very few cars on the market are "broken in" when you purchase it. Those include the Nissan GT-R (in which the motor is put on a tester and run hard for 20 minutes at redline) before it is signed off and then placed into the car. This is done because Nissan wishes for the first owner to enjoy the car right off the bat. The first generation 2012 Camaro ZL1, many were broken in (and it stated it in the manual) in order to assure that no leaks occurred and that there was no additional oil blowby into the supercharger.
For the mass produced car, your car was NOT broken in. The 4-10 miles you see on your car, is the car being driven once its off the assembly line (as it works its way around to the suspension testing machines and other facility checks), and eventually off to the lot, and then to the truck or ship that will bring your car to you.
While I certainly agree that the DURATION of break-in may be subjective, it is certainly necessary. When you purchase your car new, your piston rings, valves, and cam(s) are entirely not broken in. Heck, they probably have under a half million duration by the time you take possession. The purpose of the break in procedure is to allow for proper wear in of the vehicle during the initial stages of driving. It takes time for these to break in.
For example, for your engine to seat the rings (and also shave off any engineering tolerances on the cylinder walls), you vary your RPM. By doing this (which your manual tells you to do) you are wearing the rings in so that you get proper compression at low and high RPMs. If you start beating on the car right away, there is a good chance you will warp the rings (even a couple mills can lose you a psi), and become a chronic oil burner. I won't go into the rest, but you get the general idea of where I'm going with this.
Now, some people may say, I BEAT ON MY CAR AND ITS FINE. Thats great, congrats to you, your car was built on a great day. But that will not be the case for everyone. Because you will have people that listened to you talk about how you beat on the car, and then they are crying to Lexus because they don't understand why the car keeps burning a qt of oil every 1,000 miles.
Another thing to keep in mind is that your ECU needs time to learn you fuel trim and timing tables. As your engine becomes looser, and more free flowing, your ECU will adjust to this. As this happens, your car will begin to open up. This is the same reason you car feels like a dog (and a gas hog) in the beginning, and opens up after several hundred miles. Your fuel tables are now finally calibrated correctly, and now you have a motor that is running within range.
The break-in exists.
Ok, I will get off my soap box now...
02-01-15, 01:07 PM
#37
Sorry! Just dropping by from my usual 4GS forum posts, but this man speaks the truth. You hear your engine making those pretty loud popping sounds after driving and park your car? Those are the popping sounds from the pistons and rings expanding from the heat. Going WOT might actually be harmful to the car (although that's not always the case).
Mike
02-03-15, 11:02 AM
#38
My 3IS started to feel quicker around the 2k mile mark. Although I am not sure if the acceleration has improved or if the ecu has just learned my lead foot driving style (lol). Either way it definitely feels better than when I first got the car.
02-03-15, 11:21 AM
#39
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What I like about 3IS 350 F-Sport that it feels very stable and confidence inspiring at high speed. You don't feel like you are gonna lose the control or anything of that nature. Unlike many cars out there 3IS feels better the more push on the gas. The key in getting the best out of this car is to keep RPM between 4K and the red line, meaning not letting RPM get below 4K. So you need to keep the car at lower gear and upshift as necessary but don't let it get below 4K and then you will feel that the car pulls pretty hard while making nice low base noise.
After 10K miles the car gets even better than the first 5K miles. I don't know how to explain this but I am right now at 21K miles and the car feels that it is at its peak performance.
After 10K miles the car gets even better than the first 5K miles. I don't know how to explain this but I am right now at 21K miles and the car feels that it is at its peak performance.
Last edited by salvadorik; 02-03-15 at 11:31 AM.
02-03-15, 03:46 PM
#40
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I took it real easy on the throttle and tried to shift around 3.5-4k until I hit 2,000 miles.
Now that she's properly broken in, HUGE difference, she's a beast. I've actually been able to run with 435i Bimmers and be nose to nose and beat the New 650 Grand Coupe last night. ;o)
02-04-15, 05:38 AM
#41
I was told it's not the engine but more the drivetrain that loosens up after some mileage. A few Lexus owners say the car comes alive around 15-20k. Sitting at 19k on my od, it's starting to pick up acceleration quick. I'll be at 80 sometimes and not know it.
02-08-15, 10:07 PM
#43
I experienced the same thing myself bro don't worry. It feels really slow at first when you're breaking it in.
I took it real easy on the throttle and tried to shift around 3.5-4k until I hit 2,000 miles.
Now that she's properly broken in, HUGE difference, she's a beast. I've actually been able to run with 435i Bimmers and be nose to nose and beat the New 650 Grand Coupe last night. ;o)
I took it real easy on the throttle and tried to shift around 3.5-4k until I hit 2,000 miles.
Now that she's properly broken in, HUGE difference, she's a beast. I've actually been able to run with 435i Bimmers and be nose to nose and beat the New 650 Grand Coupe last night. ;o)
02-08-15, 10:59 PM
#44
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3IS is slower than bmw 335i and perhaps a bit faster than 328I with 2.0L turbo 4 cylinder engine. 328i with tune, however, will be a lot faster than 3IS 350 with tune or without tune (lol cause no comparable tune is available for lexus)
What this thread is trying to accomplish is to say that the 3IS powertrain unleashes its full potential in several thousand miles after purchasing it new. And yes it is true, my car currently is a lot quicker compared to what it was when I first bought it.
02-09-15, 02:53 PM
#45
